Samsung is officially making chips for cryptocurrency mining

Samsung has confirmed it is now manufacturing specialised computer chips used to mine cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether following a report this week that carried a hint.

In its latest financial report released on Wednesday (Jan 31), the South Korean company said that first-quarter earnings are expected to rise on the back of, among other things, a “growing demand for cryptocurrency mining chips”.

It added: "In 2018, Samsung will provide 8nm and 11nm processes to meet customers’ needs and start a risk production of 7-nano."

Application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) chips are used to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by using computers to solve a series of complex math puzzles.

A Samsung spokesman told TechCrunch: "Samsung’s foundry business is currently engaged in the manufacturing of cryptocurrency mining chips. However, we are unable to disclose further details regarding our customer."

No further details were provided, added TechChrunch.

According to South Korean news outlet The Bell, Samsung began manufacturing ASIC chips in January with Taiwan-based manufacturer TSMC, which already supplies the chips to China-based bitcoin mining company Bitmain.